Joe Biden Could Have Key Advantage Over Other Democrats

If former Vice President Joe Biden decides to jump into the 2020 presidential race, he would likely have a few advantages over other Democrats.

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Joe Biden Could Have Key Advantage Over Other Democrats

Joe Biden hasn't officially announced that he's running for president but his presence is casting a huge shadow over the 2020 Democratic primary field. "We have a lot of lesser known candidates in the race and we have Bernie Sanders who of course is a well known candidate," Belt said.

"[He's] probably considered the front runner but with Biden in the race that's really going to create two different tiers of candidates, the ones who are catching fire among that also ran category and the high level candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden." Todd Belt, a political science professor at the George Washington University says although it's not guaranteed that Biden would win the nomination, he does have a few advantages over his rivals if he ultimately jumps in.

"He has donor lists, he has volunteer lists," Belt said.

"He's been in politics a very long time and the presidential primary process is about delivering states.

And having people in those states endorse you, give you their campaign experience, their volunteers, their donor list and their help in delivering those states, like Iowa, like New Hampshire, like South Carolina and all the states that will be on super Tuesday." "Run Joe run, run Joe run," crowd says.

---"Save [it] a little longer, I may need it in a couple of weeks," Joe Biden said.

A recent CNN/Des Moines Register poll of Iowa caucus voters had Biden in first place with 27 percent followed closely by Sanders with 25 percent, but support for Biden has shrank since late last year in the same poll.

The former vice-president would likely pitch himself as a more moderate choice for Democratic voters and he'd also need to tap into the success of his former boss. "Hillary Clinton took for granted the Latin and black communities that have been the bedrock of the Democratic electorate," Belt said.

"Joe Biden needs to reform the Obama coalition in order to win the election not only at the primary level but also at the general level.

He needs to talk about the issues that are facing those communities." Belt says Biden's Pennsylvania roots and his appeal to white working class voters could give his candidacy an important edge.

White working class voters in key states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan broke for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

Biden will also have to turn out key democratic voters if he wins the nomination. "In order to see someone like Joe Biden solidify the party behind him in terms of the white working class as well as the urban black vote and Latino vote," Belt added.

"There's an opportunity for him to put somebody on the ticket that would help him with that."